An intriguing duel took place during the Mexican Grand Prix: on one side, Sergio Pérez, whose future at Red Bull hangs in the balance, and on the other, Liam Lawson, his potential replacement. The latter managed to defend his position and finished ahead of the Mexican. Unfortunately, this was not achieved without conflict; Lawson even raised his middle finger to Pérez, who he claimed nearly pushed him off the track.
“I gave him (Pérez) enough space in the fourth turn,” Liam Lawson explained to Viaplay. “But he came at me very late, so I knew he was trying to make a lunge. I gave him enough space again, but he nearly pushed me off the track. In turn five, it was the same story; he turned in again and gave me no room.” Eventually, the two cars collided, though a major crash was avoided. Pérez’s RB20 was damaged to the extent that he could not make up any more places.
Middle Finger Incident
“Of course, I didn’t intentionally cause an incident,” Lawson defended himself. “I had thought he would give enough room in that last turn, but that clearly wasn’t the case.” Due to the incident, both drivers could forget about scoring points. When Lawson later overtook his Mexican rival on the straight, he showed visible irritation; the Visa RB driver raised his middle finger.
“I was a bit upset at that moment,” Lawson admitted. “He had been blocking me for half a lap – he was clearly trying to ruin my race.” The 22-year-old driver apologized for the offense. “In hindsight, I shouldn’t have done that, so I want to apologize for it. It was in the moment, but that’s no excuse.
